UN: Nearly 8,000 people died, disappeared on migration routes in 2025

UN: Nearly 8,000 people died, disappeared on migration routes in 2025
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Around 7,900 people died or disappeared on migration routes in 2025, taking the total dead and missing since 2014 beyond 80,000, Arab News reported citing the UN’s migration agency.

The UN’s International Organization for Migration said people were being forced into dangerous, irregular journeys when safe pathways were out of reach, and urged countries to find the political will to save more lives on migration routes.

The 7,904 deaths and disappearances documented in 2025 was lower than the 9,200 figure given for 2024 — the highest annual total on record.

In the Americas, northbound movements along the Central American route fell sharply compared to 2024.

In Europe, overall arrivals declined, but the profile of movements changed, with Bangladeshi nationals becoming the largest group arriving while Syrian arrivals fell following political and policy shifts, the IOM said.

Some 3,400 deaths and disappearances were recorded on sea routes to Europe, of which 1,330 were on the central Mediterranean Sea route, with more than 1,200 on the Western Africa/Atlantic route to Spain’s Canary Islands.

The migration agency highlighted that at least around 340,000 family members are estimated to have been directly affected by the missing migrant crisis since 2014.

They are left with dire psychological, social, legal and economic impacts of having a relative whose disappearance remains unresolved, it said.